The Penn That I Believe In
by TheRunawaySavior
Summary: As the citizens of an underground civilization live their lives, three dimension-traveling kids come from another world in search for answers on this world unknown to anyone before. Warning: This is my first story, so I might not portray the characters exactly, even though I intend to do just that.


**The Penn That I Believe In**

 **Before I begin, I just wanna say that this is my first fan fiction, and as such, I hope that you take that into consideration as this seems like a really ambitious story to tackle. I mean, Gurren Lagann, a really awesome anime with a 'Explosions fix everything' mentality, while Penn Zero is a Disney cartoon with a quieter life and a 'Words fix all' mentality.**

 **Now remember, I don't own Gurren Lagann or Penn Zero, Part Time Hero. If you need to let me know about something in the story, or just want to rant about how fanfic crossovers are getting stupider, let me know in the comments.**

 **And without further words, have a good one!**

 **Prologue**

Unknown American City

As the sun rose above the buildings on a busy street somewhere, the sound of three kids could be heard as they walked down the street.

"Why do we have to be here so early? Boone said. "I don't know, but it must be important. Come on guys. … Boone?" Penn turned to see that Boone, and surprisingly the third of their party, Sashi, sleeping on the sidewalk.

"Guys!" They soon both woke up, much to their disbelief. "I needed my sleep. You took it from me." Sashi spoke, with a mix of tiredness and ruthlessness in her voice.

All Penn did was tilt his head, as their destination, The Odyssey, a worn down theater, lay next to them.

"Ugh!" Both Boone and Sashi groaned as their morning destination was in front of them.

"Come on! Today's mission can't be that bad, can it?"

Unknown Underground City

Digging. Digging with nothing but his drill, this is the life that Simon knows. The ONLY life that Simon knows. The city that lay underground needed people to dig, so that they can expand. But he didn't do it for the good of the town, or the steaks that you get when you do well, given by the mayor.

Deep in the ground, Simon dug with his spiral drill into what lay in front of him. As he turned his drill to the rock, it hit a small object. Picking it up, it was revealed to be a small version of the drill he had, glowing in the darkness that surrounded him. 'This is why I like digging' He thought to himself. 'All the cool treasures I find make it worth it.'

. . .

"Hey! Keep digging! I know you want these steak, men!" The mayor yelled at the men and boys digging small holes into the smooth cavern walls.

As he swished a thin sword around, a crack appeared into an untouched section of the wall. Soon enough, the part of the wall caved open to reveal Simon, holding his drill and covered in dirt. As Simon started to walk away from the digging section of the city, the mayor yelled, "Hey! Why can't you dig more like that? I see you starving, George!"

Focusing on the small drill he found in the ground, Simon ripped a piece of string from his shirt and tied it to a small hole at the top of the base. That allowed him to fasten it into a nice necklace. Putting it on, he noticed a small group of girls looking at him.

"Hey look, its Simon the digger." One of the three girls whispered to the others. "Why does he want to be covered in dirt day after day?"

Simon looked down, realizing that his appearance was very, 'dirt-y'.

"And look, he's carrying something weird, too." "He's so gross." "And he smells." "Is he looking at us?" With that, they started to walk away. "We gotta be careful, or he might drill a hole in us, too!"

As they walked away, all Simon could do was walk with his head hanging, the view not too different from when he's digging.

His walk continued in shame until he bumped into someone. He didn't even need to look up to tell who it was.

"Walk with your head held high, Simon!" He looked up to see Kamina, a citizen of the city. With his usual attire, red sunglasses and shorts, along with the tattoos near covering his chest and arms. He gave a smile to Simon as he continued.

"Kamina." "Stop calling me that!" He gave a chuckle as he looked to the ceiling above. "Call me bro!" "You're not my brother." Kamina patted him on the shoulder. "It's not blood that makes us bros! We're soul brothers, two siblings of the spirit!"

He looked down to Simon, and for a second, joined him in his dismay. Of course, that was only a second. "Come on, Simon! Don't let what those fugly chicks say bring you down. This looks good on you."

Kamina lifted the glowing necklace from his neck and inspected it. "I see why you like it, drills are your soul! Come with me."

"Where are we going?" "You'll see."

 **Chapter 1 – My Glasses!**

The Odyssey Theater

As the three kids walked into the theater, they were greeted by its sole resident, Phyllis.

"Seems morning isn't the best time for emergency." She spoke to herself, noting the tired appearance the kids wore. "But, emergency is emergency."

"What's the emergency, Phyllis?" Penn questioned the women as she fixed a light bulb in the lobby. "Hold on..." She twisted the bulb into its position as it started to glow. When it could spin no further, she fastened a glass dome around the bulb and turned to the three kids.

"Have you noticed the lack of emergency in this place?" The three looked at each other, and quietly nodded. "This is what happens when life is non-eventful. Nothing needs to be done, so things get done slowly." She paused. "This light has been broken for ten years!" She walked up to the kids. "So now, I'm going to send you to the most remote and unique world I could find. And hopefully life becomes exciting again."

Boone, Sashi, and Penn just looked in confusion as they followed her into the main theater, where a big device was attached to the screen. It was a transportation portal, giving the kids and Phyllis the ability to transport themselves into worlds of great struggle.

"The mission I have for you three is very, EMERGENCY, I'll tell you that much." "What does that mean?" Boone responded, with a hint of fear in his eyes.

"This world I discovered this morning. Never traveled to, never saved. I need you three to go in there and save it from a threat unlike any other." "You mean Rippen?"

She looked at Penn, then slowly nodded 'no'. "Rippen will have other issues. This world has an enemy you need to face on your own. Not with the help of Rippen and Larry's mistakes."

At this point, Boone was hiding behind Penn and Sashi, using his hat as a face cover.

"Don't be afraid, Boone. You will not perish in this world, as I will keep a close eye on you three. This will be the, 'EMERGENCY' I've been waiting for. Now step onto the platform!"

The three agreed, as they stepped onto a metal platform in front of the device lying on the stage. Soon, the device was on, displaying an underground city. As they rose in the air, trying to stay awake as they teleported, Penn tried to wake them up.

"Guys, wake up!"

Unknown Underground City

The city itself was quiet. Few people walked the main floor, fewer walking the small rows on the floors above. But what stood out among the people that walked, was a group of three children. As they walked, a flash of life surrounded them. As it cleared, you see the kids are now Penn and friends, wearing the usual dark-brown robes and shorts that the citizens would wear.

"Whoa... this place is so dark!" Boone looked around for a strong source of light, but all that was there were blue orbs making a faint light.

"OK, then. Sashi, check the specs." Sashi reached her hands to her eyes, where the glasses she wore on all of the missions would be. But they weren't there.

"Where are my glasses?" Sashi looked around, but only saw the underground city that lay in front of them. "My glasses!

"So, if Sashi doesn't have her glasses, that means we can't do the mission. But they have to be somewhere... LOOK OUT!" Penn yelled to his friends as a herd of, GIANT HAIRY PIGS ran out of a hole to the west and straight for them.

"OH MY GOSH!" Sashi and Boone jumped out of the way, along with Penn, as the crowd of animals ran past them. And ran past them. And did so again.

"How many of these things are there?" Boone looked to the direction they were coming from, but say no end in sight. That's when Sashi noticed a group of teens riding some of them. From what she saw, the two leading the charge were a kid with dirt on his face and hair more cluttered than a forest, and an older teen without a shirt. That's when she noticed his ridiculous glasses.

"Who are they?" Penn looked to Sashi as he got off the ground. "The specs." "What?" Sashi turned to Penn as a weird look emerged on his face. "The glasses one of them had. They must be the specs!"

As the trail of mutant pigs started to end, Sashi backed up, and lunged herself onto one of them. "Sashi!" Reacting quickly, Penn backed up before lunging onto the last one of the pack, close behind.

The rubble soon cleared, and what lay was a sleeping Boone. "You guys... got... cheese..."

In the middle of the line of mutant pigs, were Simon and Kamina. "This is crazy!" Simon tried to contact Kamina as he held on for his life. "Prepare yourself, Simon! We're about to reach the surface!"

Back to Sashi and Penn, they weren't making much progress. The mutant pigs were now trying to throw them off so they had to hold on, rather than going forward. "I can't take this anymore!" With that, Sashi used the force of the animal to lurch onto the one ahead. This let her continuously do it, getting ahead with each second that passed.

"Wait up!" Penn tried to follow, but was thrown back and fell about a story onto Boone. "HEY! I WAS SLEEPING HERE!"

As Sashi continued forward, she caught sight of what was about to happen. Two rows of the mutant pigs, one with her, and one with the teen wearing sunglasses, were about to collide.

"Not before I get those glasses!" Sashi lunged faster and stronger than before. She was almost to the front, when "BANG!"

The two rows crashed together, creating a 'mutant pig tower' reaching for the roof of the city. As they rose, Sashi got stuck between two beasts, but herd the teen speaking.

"OK! Get ready to use your drill, Simon!" "Not if I can help it!" Sashi squeezed out of the beasts grasp to see a man with a sheathed katana on a sort of cat-walk closer to the roof than they were.

"Kamina! I should have known if was you!" "You'd better step aside!" This made the man furious. "Why you little!" He prepared his katana to strike the tower. 'Oh no...' Sashi thought to herself. She tried to break free and jump, but to no success.

"You moron!" The man swung his thin sword just as the tower of mutant pigs reached him, knocking them all down. Sashi was descending at a fast pace, with no end but the bottom floor, where Penn and Boone waited.

"Sashi!" The two yelled, as they witnessed her fall among the rest of the animals. She was falling to fast to catch, and fear settled into the two boys. "What are we gonna do?" "I don't know!"

. . .

The mayor finished locking up the tunnel that the beasts came from. Penn, Sashi and Boone watched from the side as the mayor chewed out Simon, Kamina and his men.

"Will you get it though your thick skull, boy! The surface doesn't exist!" This really pissed off Kamina. "Like hell it doesn't! I saw it myself! And up there, there were no walls, no roof, just a boundless... a boundless... a boundless bright blue sky!"

"Would you look at that? A liar's son is a liar too." "What's that mean?" "Your father did spout crap like that, and look where it got him, crushed under a pile of rocks!"

"My dad DID make it to the surface. I know because I was there when he did!" "Then why are you here? Why did he leave you?" This left Kamina speechless, yet only for a short while.

"Look! For countless generations, our ancestors have been keeping the main canopy above our heads sealed! They had to have done it for a reason. And the ones who don't understand that can't eat! To the barracks you go!" This really scared all the others who joined Kamina.

"We're so sorry, sir!" "You weasels!" Kamina looked at the others he thought he knew in disappointment. This pleased the mayor, as he let them free from stone chains he put them all on. "Sorry, bro! We have to eat!" "Yeah, come on and swallow your pride so you don't have to go through with this!"

Kamina gave them disgusted looks. "You three, will never call me bro again! You're a disgrace!" This upset the men, but they still wanted to eat.

"Looks like the bonds of loyalty don't run strong in this, 'Team Gurren' of yours. Simon, go with them." The mayor talked as he unlocked the chain that held Simon.

"I know you were rushed into helping him. Your job in this city is vital, Simon. Digging tunnels to expand the community. You don't have to stay with this bozo any longer."

Simon looked down in disappointment, as he would have to abandon the one who not an hour motivated him when he needed it.

"But... I..." "Go." Simon looked to Kamina. "Don't sweat it. Go on" Kamina still looked to the above after his members bailed him. Simon still felt guilty about all this, but trusted Kamina enough.

But, before he could say anything, the city started to shake.

"Earthquake!" Everyone ran from the main areas of the city into the homes carved into the sides of it. Everyone, but Kamina and Simon.

"Bro! Come on!" Simon tried to get Kamina to saftey, but he wouldn't budge. "I'm not moving." "Come on! If we don't move than the rocks that fall will crush you! And you'll die!" Kamina looked to Simon, remembering events that had transpired not too long back.

"... I'm sorry. I forgot what happened." Kamina lifted his arms, chained together by stone, and held Simon close. Soon enough, the rumbling started to weaken. "Don't worry, kid. It's almost over."

As the earthquake stopped, he let go of Simon before yelling to the village, "Are you all just going to live in fear of earthquakes until you die! Up on the surface, there ain't no ceiling!"

"Hey!" The mayor yelled. "I didn't look after all of you, orphans, out of pure generosity, you know? I did it because I'm the chief! I have a duty to protect this city and all of its inhabitants. But, if you people can't do as I tell you, there's no place for you here!"

. . .

The town was nearing its night, even if there were no stars above to indicate that fact. Few people were walking in the plaza. The ones that were, however, had a reason in doing so.

"So the mayor dude locked up Kamina in a cell? That's uncool." The two kids were informing Boone, who was asleep for about a fourth of the narrative.

"Yeah. Do you think we had to get them to escape?" Penn questioned, as their only way of knowing why they were there lay within a jail cell. "Mabye, but one thing's for certain, and that's these clothes are comfortable!" Boone looked down to the brown robe and shorts he wore, and started to hug himself. "So warm, and cozy..."

"Boone! Focus!" Sashi slapped him on the shoulder before continuing. "I think the first thing we need to do it get the glasses from Kamina." "But how? He's locked in the back of JAIL! And if we get caught talking to him, the mayor might see us and realize we're not from around here."

"You're right, Penn. That's why you two are talking to Simon." "What? Why do we need to talk to him?" "He seems to be important in the mayor's eyes. Finding out more about him will help us out."

With that, Sashi left for the prison cell, and the two boys left for Simon, the digger.

. . .

The cell was dark, yet a small ray of light beamed in through a rectangular hole on the wall in front of Kamina. He sat there, tied to a stone pole, unable to move his arms, yet would struggle from time to time, as though he could escape.

Kamina actually could escape, as the rope was thin enough to rip through, even with the layers that it wrapped around. But that would cause more trouble within the community, trouble that he didn't need. His time would come, to show the capabilities of Team Gurren, he just had to be patient.

"Hey." Kamina looked up to see a young girl peeping through the hole above his head. She was wearing the clothes of one he knew, but the face and voice was unrecognizable to him.

"Who the hell are you?" Kamina looked to the girl, as she sat down next to the hole.

She hesitated before speaking. "Who the hell do you think I am?" This took Kamina by surprise, as she was quiet and unemotional when talking, but he understood. "Someone wanting something, and someone determined to get it."

This made her smile. "Good answer. My name's Sashi, and I need your glasses." "Why?" "I need them." Kamina grinned. "Look, I'd love to help you, Sashi, but as you can see, I'm tied up, and if you break in here, someone will notice."

"That's where you're wrong, Kamina. You can rip through that rope, binding you to this place. Yet you choose to sit here and do nothing. Why, after standing up to the ruler of your city, protesting what you believe and protecting the cause of the innocent, Simon, do you just sit here and do nothing?"

One again, Kamina was caught off-guard by how she responded, but didn't show it. Instead, his grin grew wider at the thought of what she said.

"Finally! Someone understands!" Kamina laughed as he left Sashi in pure confusion.

"What?" "Oh, Sashi, the people of this city don't understand the way you do about my cause. They don't believe it's even a cause worth standing up for. But you, you take what I believe in as a given and roll with it. You're not afraid

Kamina ripped through the rope with his right wrist, grabbed his shades, and threw them into the hole, landing in front of Sashi. "Thanks." "No problem." Sashi got up, and started to leave, but went back to ask one more question.

"Why do you want to reach the surface?" Kamina looked back up to see Sashi once again.

"My father, he went to the surface, and told me to wait before coming back for him. I thought I was ready to go, had a team, some huge animals, and Simon, the greatest digger in the city. But, my team has abandoned me, and Simon has no motivation. When the time comes for me to escape this place, I will. But until then, I shall remain here, unknowing whether or not my father still waits for me."

"That's deep." "But it's the truth." "So, until you feel the time is right, you'll remain here." "Correct." Sashi looked at the glasses in her hands, and smiled.

"I think your time will come, Kamina. Your time will come."

. . .

 **OK Guys, I think that this is enough for Chapter 1, My Glasses! So, a lot happened in this, and I hope you guys enjoyed. Remember, if you have a question or want to tell me something about this adventure I'm crafting, let me know by commenting. If you like what I'm setting up here, let me know by checking that you favorite this story down below. I don't think much is left to be said, so Goodbye!**


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